Complete JavaServer Faces
Private Training

Course Summary

This comprehensive five-day course shows Java programmers how to build web applications with JavaServer Faces 2.0. We develop the best-practice concepts that are formalized by the JSF architecture, from model/view/controller to the UI component framework and request-handling lifecycle. Students start to discover that there is a “JSF way” of doing things, and learn not just APIs and tag libraries but the habit of slicing application logic into its most reusable forms: managed beans, event listeners, converters, validators, and more. Students also acquire a firm command of JSF development, learning to work with JSF’s list and table components, building reusable composite components, and building Ajax applications. Simple, high-level Ajax functionality is covered, and students work more directly with JSF’s JavaScript API and resource-management framework.

Audience
ava programmers wishing to learn JavaServer Faces.
Course Length
5 Days
Prerequisites
Java programming experience is required. A general understanding of Servlets and JSP is recommended. Basic knowledge of XML and HTML is helpful.

Objectives

Describe the purpose and scope of the JSF architecture.

Build web applications using JSF’s FacesServlet, faces-config.xml, and the JSF request/response lifecycle.

Use Facelets tag libraries to build JSF views.

Use managed beans to encapsulate form handling and server-side presentation logic.

Implement control logic as JSF event listeners or action methods.

Use validators and converters to implement a validation phase for a JSF application.

Build composite UI fragments or custom components using Facelets.

Build Ajax applications with JSF: client-side behaviors and partial requests and responses followed by DOM updates.

Detailed Outline

  1. Overview
    • Java EE and Web Applications
    • Perspectives: Servlets and JSP
    • Perspectives: MVC Frameworks
    • Perspectives: AWT and JFC
    • JSF Value Proposition
    • JSF Configuration
    • Issues with JSP and JSF
    • Facelets
  2. Lifecycle
    • The JSF Request/Response Cycle
    • Lifecycle Phases
    • Phase Listeners
    • The FacesContext Class
    • Who Does What
    • Partial Request Cycles
  3. UI Components
    • The UIComponent Class
    • Behavioral Interfaces
    • The Core and HTML Tag Libraries
    • Relationship to CSS
    • ID vs. Client ID vs. Label
    • The UISelectItem(s)
    • Navigating the UI Tree
    • The binding Attribute
  4. Page Navigation
    • View Selection
    • Navigation Rules
    • Implicit Navigation
    • Problems with POSTback
    • Post/Redirect/Get
    • Support for HTTP GET
    • Conditional Navigation
  5. Managed Beans
    • JavaBeans and JSF
    • Backing Beans
    • Configuring Managed Beans
    • @ManagedBean and Related Annotations
    • The Unified Expression Language
    • Value and Method Expressions
    • Implicit Objects
  6. Scopes
    • Managed-Bean Scopes
    • Lifecycle Annotations
    • View Parameters
    • Passing Request Parameters
  7. Dependency Injection
    • Managed Properties
    • Values, Lists, and Maps
    • Using Dynamic Expressions
    • Dependencies and Bean Scopes
    • The @ManagedProperty Annotation
  8. Facelets
    • Migrating from JSP
    • View Definition Languages
    • Facelets
    • Tag Libraries
    • Writing and Using Custom Tags
  9. Events and Listeners
    • The JSF Event Model
    • Event Types and Timing
    • Event Queueing
    • ActionEvent and ActionListener
    • Action Methods
    • Connecting Controllers to Beans
    • ValueChangeEvent and ValueChangeListener
    • Deferring Event Processing
    • Limitations of FacesListeners
  10. Lists and Tables
    • Working with Collections
    • Why We Don’t Use <c:anything> <c:anyMore>
    • <ui:repeat> vs. <c:forEach>
    • <h:dataTable>
    • Defining Columns and Facets
    • One Command per Row
    • Reading the Row Number
    • Pseudo-Maps
    • Working with Persistent Data
    • Concurrency and Caching
    • Limiting the Scope of Queries
    • Paging
  11. Converters
    • The Converter Interface
    • Life of a Datum
    • Standard Converters
    • Custom Converters
    • The @FacesConverter Annotation
    • Timing of Conversion
    • Representing Persistent Objects by ID
  12. Validators
    • The Validator Interface
    • Standard Validators
    • Using Regular Expressions
    • Producing Error Messages
    • Message Keys
    • Presenting Error Messages
    • Posting Error Messages from Anywhere
    • Custom Validators
    • The @FacesValidator Annotation
    • Validating Multiple Inputs
    • JSR-303 Support: “Bean Validation”
  13. Resources
    • Resource Libraries
    • Deploying Images, Scripts, and Stylesheets
    • Addressing Resources
  14. Composites
    • Limitations of Custom Tags
    • Composite Components
    • Encapsulation
    • Deploying and Using Composites
    • Interface and Implementation
    • Impact on the UI Tree
    • Attributes
    • Retargeting
  15. Ajax
    • What is Ajax?
    • The XMLHttpRequest Object
    • Ajax and the JSF Lifecycle
    • Using <f:ajax>
    • execute and render Attributes
    • Ajax Listeners
  16. The JSF JavaScript API
    • The JSF JavaScript API
    • Triggering Ajax Requests
    • Refining <f:ajax> with Callbacks
    • onevent and onerror Atributes
    • The Ajax Request/Response Process
    • Using Hidden Inputs
    • Other JavaScript Functions